DER AEL TESTE DER JUDEN IN LITZMANNSTADT – Brot Karte – Bread Ration Card No. 085998 – Lodz Ghetto, 1941. A numbered 085998 bread card with a table of dates granting the right to receive a daily bread ration for a period of 60 days within the Lodz Ghetto. The card belonged to a Jewish resident of the ghetto, Josef Landau. It was used six times and bears an ink stamp “Gestorben” (Deceased) next to Josef’s name. Below the rows containing the owner’s details, instructions in German outline the process for redeeming the bread ration and the punishments for violating the regulations.
Unlike other ghettos where food and essential goods often relied on smuggling, in Lodz this was nearly impossible due to the strict oversight of the German authorities. The Jews were entirely dependent on the Germans and the Judenrat for food, medicine, and other essential supplies. As a result, starvation and disease ravaged the ghetto. Approximately 164,000 people were crammed into an area of 4 square kilometers, only 2.4 kilometers of which were habitable. In 1944, the ghetto was completely liquidated by the Nazi forces.
Size: 17×14 cm. Stains. Condition: moderate – Good.